With seemingly every rumored candidate either very publicly dismissing speculation or privately denying interest in the Penn State job, one confirmed candidate is embracing the potential opportunity.
The agent for San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman acknowledged earlier this week that his client interviewed for the Nittany Lions vacancy “quite a while ago”, and reports have indicated the long-time NFL assistant is a finalist to become the permanent replacement for Joe Paterno. If that were to come to fruition, Roman would jump at the opportunity.
"[A] a job like Penn State is a lifetime job. That’s a job if I were to become the head coach there, I’d wouldn’t leave there,” Roman said Tuesday according to CSNBayArea.com.
“That’s a very unique opportunity at Penn State, so that’s something I’d definitely consider strongly.”
With the 49ers preparing for a Jan. 14 playoff game, Roman also made sure to express a lot of love for his current place of employment. “I love where I’m at right now. I love the (49ers) organization here. I love how it’s structured. I love how we interact. I love how we solve problems,” Roman lovingly said.
Roman has been an assistant coach for 16 seasons, with 14 of those coming at the NFL level -- the Carolina Panthers (1995-2001), Houston Texans (2002-05) and Baltimore Ravens (2006-07). The only time he’s spent at the collegiate level was in 2009 and 2010, after which he left with Jim Harbaugh for the 49ers.
He played his college football at John Carroll University in Ohio after growing up in New Jersey.
In addition to Roman, the only coaches confirmed to have interviewed for the job are a trio of current Nittany Lions assistants -- Tom Bradley, Jay Paterno and Larry Johnson Sr. -- as well as Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements.
And then there’s Greg Schiano. The former PSU assistant and current Rutgers head coach has been connected to the opening since Paterno was fired exactly eight weeks ago today, but publicly denied any interest. According to StateCollege.com, however, two private jets belonging to the university have made a total of four trips to New Jersey over the past week.
An agent with both playes and coaches as clients told the website that the current buzz among his peers is that Schiano is being targeted by Penn State.
“I’ve been hearing a lot of talk throughout the agent community that something is going on with Schiano,” said the agent. “His name keeps on popping up in conjunction with Penn State among people I know.”
And here comes a Schiano denial in three... two... one...